Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician and writer. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with the band, he released a solo album, Believe in Me (1993), and formed the short-lived supergroupNeurotic Outsiders.

Following his departure from Guns N' Roses in 1997, McKagan briefly reunited with his pre-success Seattle punk band 10 Minute Warning. He then formed the still-active hard rock band Loaded, in which he performs lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Between 2002 and 2008, he played bass in the supergroup Velvet Revolver with his former Guns N' Roses band mates Slash and Matt Sorum. He joined Jane's Addiction for a brief tenure in 2010. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Guns N' Roses.[2]

In addition to his musical career, McKagan has established himself as a writer. He has written weekly columns on a wide variety of topics for SeattleWeekly.com,[3]Playboy.com,[4] and ESPN.com.[5] A former high school drop-out, he attended Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics in the early 2000s, and subsequently founded the wealth management firm Meridian Rock.[6]

Michael Andrew McKagan grew up in the working-class U District of Seattle,[7] the youngest of eight children born to Alice Marie and Elmer "Mac" McKagan. He has been called "Duff" since toddlerhood, to which he once referred as "an Irish thing."[7] Following his parents' divorce, his mother supported the family by taking a job as a typist.[7]

He was taught how to play bass by his brother Bruce, further developing his skills by playing along with the albums 1999 by Prince and Damaged by Black Flag.[8] Later in his autobiography, "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)", he said he was influenced by bass driven bands such as that of Barry Adamson in Magazine

Although an honors student, McKagan dropped out of Roosevelt High School in the tenth grade. He then worked as a pastry chef for the Great American Food and Beverage Company while earning his GED.[7] He was later awarded an honorary diploma by current principal Brian Vance after speaking at the class of 2012's graduation ceremony.[citation needed]

McKagan once claimed to have been a member of 31 bands in Seattle, variously playing drums, guitar, and bass, although he admits that most of them were party bands that played together only once.[7] In 1979, at the age of 15, McKagan formed the punk band the Vains, in which he played bass; they released the single "School Jerks" in 1980.[7][9] During this time, he also played guitar in the punk band the Living, which opened shows for Hüsker Dü and D.O.A., and developed a devoted following.

In 1980, McKagan joined the pop-punk band the Fastbacks as their drummer. He appeared on their 1981 debut single "It's Your Birthday", which was issued on guitarist Kurt Bloch's label No Threes Records, and on the song "Someone Else's Room", which was included on the Seattle Syndrome Volume One compilation album, also released in 1981.[10] In 1982, McKagan became the drummer for the hardcore punk band The Fartz, with whom he recorded several demos, five of which were included on their 1990 album You, We See You Crawling.[11] After several line-up changes, The Fartz evolved into the post-punk band 10 Minute Warning, for which McKagan played guitar.[7]

In 1983, McKagan moved to Los Angeles, California, with one of his brothers where he found work as an appetizer server at a Black Angus restaurant in Northridge.[7] Answering an ad for a bassist in a local newspaper, he met guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler,[7][12][13] with whom he formed the short-lived band Road Crew.[14] They auditioned a number of singers, including one-time Black Flag vocalist Ron Reyes, and worked on material that included the main riff of what would become the Guns N' Roses song "Rocket Queen".[14] Slash eventually disbanded the group due to them not being able to find a singer, as well as Adler's lack of work ethic compared to himself and McKagan.[14]

In June 1985, McKagan replaced bassist Ole Beich in Guns N' Roses,[15][16] which was newly founded by singer Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin of Hollywood Rose.[17][18] McKagan's Road Crew band mates Slash and Steven Adler joined the band that same month. After two days of rehearsal, the line-up played its debut gig at The Troubadour on June 6. In 1987, Guns N' Roses released its debut album, Appetite for Destruction, which to date has sold over 28 million copies worldwide,[19] 18 million of which in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the US.[20] The following year, the band released G N' R Lies, which sold over five million copies in the US alone,[20] despite containing only eight tracks, four of which were included on the previously released EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. In 1990, Steven Adler was fired from the band because of his heroin addiction; he was replaced by Matt Sorum of The Cult.[21]

In May 1991, Guns N' Roses embarked on the two-and-a-half-year-long Use Your Illusion Tour. The following September, the band released the long-awaited albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively on the US chart, a feat unachieved by any other group.[22] In November of that year, Izzy Stradlin abruptly left the band; he was replaced by Gilby Clarke of Kill For Thrills. In 1993, the band released "The Spaghetti Incident?", a cover album of mostly punk songs, which proved less successful than its predecessors. McKagan took on lead vocals on four songs, including live favorite "Attitude", originally by the Misfits. That same year, McKagan released his debut solo album, Believe in Me, on which he sang lead vocals and played virtually every instrument.

Following his departure from Guns N' Roses in 1997, McKagan moved back to Seattle, where he met with many of his old friends, including Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard, who convinced him to reunite 10 Minute Warning. Singer Christopher Blue was brought in to replace Steve Verwolf, who was serving a term in federal prison. In 1998, the band released their self-titled album on the well-known Seattle label Sub Pop. The album featured nine tracks, including two new versions of songs originally recorded by The Fartz, namely "Is This the Way?" and "Buried". 10 Minute Warning played its last show on August 22, 1998 at the Roseland theater in Portland, Oregon.[24]

McKagan's second solo album, Beautiful Disease, was intended to be released in 1999, but became lost in the legal shuffle of the merge between Geffen Records and Interscope Records.[25] McKagan was dropped from Geffen's roster,[26][27] and subsequently lost all commercial rights to release the record. For the tour supporting his ill-fated solo album, he formed the band Loaded, which consisted of McKagan on bass and vocals, Dez Cadena, formerly of Black Flag, on guitar, Michael Barragan, formerly of Plexi, on guitar, and Taz Bentley, formerly of The Reverend Horton Heat, on drums. Loaded independently released the live record Episode 1999: Live, before disbanding in late 1999.

In 2002, McKagan founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver with his former Guns N' Roses band mates Slash and Matt Sorum, and Loaded guitarist Dave Kushner. Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland completed the line-up. In 2004, they released their debut album, Contraband, which debuted at No. 1 on the US chart and sold two million copies. Their second album, Libertad, was released in 2007 to mixed reviews; it failed to achieve the same commercial success as its predecessor. The band toured extensively, until Weiland left in April 2008 to reunite with Stone Temple Pilots.[29] Velvet Revolver has been on hiatus since Weiland's departure.

In 2010, McKagan briefly joined Jane's Addiction, with lead guitarist Dave Navarro originally confirming that McKagan had joined the band on a permanent basis.[34] On joining the band, McKagan stated, "Something like a chance to write, record, and perhaps even perform with a band of the quality of Jane's Addiction does not come around every day. I have a lot of respect for this band and the guys in it."[35] He worked on several songs with Jane's Addiction and played four shows with the band—two in Los Angeles,[34][36] and two in Europe, including one at Rock in Rio in Madrid.[37] On September 6, six months after McKagan joined the band, Jane's Addiction announced that they had parted ways due to the fact that "musically [they] were all headed in different directions."[38]

On October 14, 2010, McKagan appeared on stage with Guns N' Roses for the first time since 1993 at The O2 Arena in London. He played bass on "You Could Be Mine", electric guitar on "Nice Boys" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", and acoustic guitar and tambourine on "Patience".[39] McKagan then returned to Loaded, with whom he recorded a third studio album, The Taking, which was released in 2011. Loaded twice served as opening act act for Guns N' Roses in December of that year, with McKagan again briefly joining his old band on stage.[40] On April 14, 2012, McKagan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the classic lineup of Guns N' Roses.[41]

In 2012, Duff went on tour with the Rock N Roll All Stars, a band that consisted of many of rocks most recognized performers. The band downsized and became the Kings Of Chaos. The primary members with Duff are Joe Elliott of Def Leppard and Joe Elliott's Down N' Outz, Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, Gilby Clarke of Guns N' Roses and Steve Stevens of Billy Idol's band. Others who round out the group are: Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame and Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row. The band plans on hitting the road and have released the cover song Never Before by Deep Purple. Hughes has stated the band will release a series of EP's with each EP featuring an original song and each EP featuring various genres of music: hard rock, alternative and punk. These genres seem to appeal to the various members the most. The tour will probably feature of mixture of these songs along with songs by Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded, Deep Purple and Skid Row. Joe will be on lead vocals and will occasionally play guitar, Duff will play bass and occasionally play guitar, Matt will be on drums, Steve and Gilby will be on lead guitars.

In 2013, the "Rock n' Roll All Stars" became the Kings Of Chaos with the core band that consisted of many who were on the RnR All Star lineup but now there is a core lineup; this consists of Duff, Joe, Matt, Glenn, Steve and Gilby. They toured in Australia and South Africa. On the South Africa dates Sebastian and Steve could not commit as they had prior engagements. This led to Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard taking Steve's place, and Myles Kennedy taking Sebastian's place and the addition of Slash. Viv who had to stepdown as he unfortunately contacted Hodgkin's lymphoma; Viv was replaced by Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner. The band was also joined by Ed Roland from Collective Soul, who was instrumental in getting the band booked for the gigs in South Africa. These gigs were very well attended and it is likely the band will be doing another tour in the Fall/Winter of 2013 that will more than likely include Slash, Dave and Myles as well as possible DVD and some original material from the band.

In 2014, McKagan once again briefly reunited with Guns N' Roses. He played five full shows with GnR in South America, filling in for Tommy Stinson. McKagan subsequently played with GnR at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards show in Los Angeles.[42] During Guns N' Roses' spring 2014 residency at The Joint in Las Vegas, McKagan played another full concert with the band.[43]

In 1990, McKagan—along with his Guns N' Roses band mate Slash—co-wrote and played several songs on Iggy Pop's Brick by Brick. In 1995, he collaborated with Slash on his solo project Slash's Snakepit; he co-wrote "Beggars and Hangers-On" off their album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, which he played live during a Snakepit show in May of that year. In 1998, McKagan collaborated with his former Guns N' Roses band mate Izzy Stradlin on his solo album 117°. The following year, he played on Stradlin's album Ride On, and joined him on a tour of Japan supporting the album.[44] Also in 1999, he contributed to the album Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper. In 2001, McKagan played on the album Skyjin by Zilch, Mark Lanegan's solo album Field Songs, and Izzy Stradlin's album River. The following year, he played on Stradlin's album On Down the Road. In 2004, he again collaborated with Mark Lanegan on his album Bubblegum, along with Stradlin.

McKagan has two minor acting credits; in 1988, he appeared with his Guns N' Roses band mates in the Dirty Harry film The Dead Pool, and in 1997, he played a rocker vampire in an episode of the television series Sliders.[47] In 1999, he appeared in Anthony Scarpa's documentary film Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing True Life Adventures, which focuses on the all-female hard rock band Betty Blowtorch, whose debut EP Get Off McKagan produced the same year.

In addition to his musical career, McKagan has established himself as a writer. Since August 2008, McKagan writes a weekly column for SeattleWeekly.com,[3] from January to December 2009, he wrote a weekly financial column titled "Duffonomics" for Playboy.com,[4] and since January 2011, he writes a weekly sports column for ESPN.com.[5] McKagan's autobiography, It's So Easy (And Other Lies), was released on October 4, 2011.

In 2011, McKagan founded Meridian Rock, a wealth management firm for musicians.[6] Headed by McKagan and British investor Andy Bottomley, the firm aims to educate musicians about their finances.[6]

McKagan has been involved in "The Heroes Project", founded by his friend Tim Medvetz, which is dedicated to helping soldiers and their families. As part of the project he took part in a climb up Mount Rainier in 2012, accompanying a former soldier with a prosthetic limb. During this climb McKagan suffered a potentially fatal cerebral edema.[48][49][50]

It was announced in 2012 that Rainstorm Entertainment will produce a ‘biographical documentary’ based on It's So Easy (And Other Lies). McKagan is listed as a producer and writer.[51]

On May 28, 1988, McKagan married his first wife, Mandy Brix, singer of punk rock band the Lame Flames; the couple divorced less than two years later on April 1, 1990.[47] He remarried in September 1992 to Linda Johnson, but this marriage too ended in divorce in September 1995.[47] McKagan married his current wife, model and swimsuit designer Susan Holmes, on August 28, 1999.[47] They have two daughters together. McKagan and his family reside in his hometown of Seattle, Washington.

McKagan was one of the last people confirmed to have seen Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain before he died on April 5, 1994. He sat next to Cobain on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle on April 1.[53] McKagan later recalled, "I didn't have any foresight that the guy was going to do what he did. I could tell he was bummed out, and I'd been that way before....I thought I'd ask him to come stay at my house, I turned around and he was gone."[53]

On May 10, 1994, at the age of 30, McKagan became gravely ill due to acute alcohol-induced pancreatitis, which caused his pancreas to swell to the size of a football and leak digestive enzymes into his body, causing third-degree burns. He was taken to Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle, where he was monitored until the swelling went down. He was told by his doctors that he would be dead within a month if he did not stop drinking. He had made previous efforts to curb his drinking, but this health crisis was his incentive to become sober for good. In his autobiography, he attributed his sobriety to exercise through first mountain biking, and later martial arts.[54]

Although McKagan claims in his autobiography that the fictional product Duff Beer on The Simpsons was named after him, and has received no royalties, there is no evidence for this beyond the autobiography, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening has called the claim "absurd".[55]

A high school drop-out, McKagan enrolled in a basic finance course at Santa Monica Community College in 1994; he explained that going over the financial records from his Guns N' Roses days had made him want to understand the process more, stating, "I couldn't make sense of it. I didn't know how much we had made or lost on the tour. As a 30 year-old millionaire, how do I admit to somebody that I don't know what the fuck I'm doing?"[6] In 2000, after attending several more classes at Seattle Central Community College, he enrolled full-time at Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics.[6] When Velvet Revolver took off in his final year as an undergraduate student, McKagan took a hiatus from business school to go on tour; he is still one quarter short of graduating.[6]

McKagan has used Gallien-Krueger amplifiers throughout his career; his first a GK400RB model. With Guns N' Roses, he used up to four Gallien-Krueger 800RB heads with GK 4x10 and 1x15 cabinets. His current set-up includes a Gallien-Krueger solid state 2001RB head fed to four GK 4x10RBH cabinets. McKagan usually uses a chorus effect, most often a Yamaha SPX-90 and occasionally a Boss pedal.[57] Other effects he has used are the Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth fuzz and an MXR M-80. For guitar amplification, he uses a Marshall JCM800 2204 head hotrodded by Bogner, which he nicknamed the "Seattle Head".